[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 10509]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         COLUMBIA FALLS, MAINE

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, it is a great pleasure to wish the Town 
of Columbia Falls a very happy 150th birthday. Throughout this year, 
Columbia Falls will celebrate the generations of hard-working and 
caring people who have made it such a wonderful place to live, work, 
and raise families.
  While this sesquicentennial marks Columbia Falls' incorporation, the 
year 1863 was but one milestone in a long journey of progress. It is a 
journey that began eons earlier, when the receding glaciers carved out 
the river known to Native Americans as the Wescogus and to those who 
came later as the Pleasant. In the decades before America won its 
freedom, the Pleasant River provided the wildlife that sustained the 
first settlers. In the years that followed, it became a great avenue of 
commerce in products from field and forest and a great shipbuilding 
industry thrived along its banks.
  Natural resources are only the background for Columbia Falls' story. 
Such names as Judge Thomas Ruggles, Daniel Carleton, Elijah Hamlin, 
Henry Bucknam, and Mary Ruggles Chandler remind us of the 
determination, ingenuity, and hard work that built the town. The 
impressive representation of Columbia Falls landmarks on the National 
Registry of Historic Places and the town's ongoing effort to restore 
Union Hall demonstrate the high regard the residents of today have for 
those who came before.
  In the year of Columbia Falls' incorporation, America was engaged in 
the Civil War. Many brave patriots from this community stepped forward 
to preserve our Nation and to secure the blessing of freedom for all, 
and they were remembered at the Columbia Falls Civil War Ball in April 
that launched this 150th anniversary celebration. Through their 
longstanding commitment to the inspiring Wreaths Across America 
Project, the people of Columbia Falls honor the heroes who have served 
our country throughout our history and bring distinction to our State.
  This celebration is not just about something that is measured in 
calendar years. It is about human accomplishment. We celebrate the 
people who for more than a century and a half have pulled together, 
cared for one another, and built a great community. Thanks to those who 
came before, Columbia Falls has a wonderful history. Thanks to those 
who are here today, it has a bright future.

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